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Webbunny tumblelog
story from Jul 18, 2009, titled Atheism requires as much faith as religion?.
In it, Webbunny tumblelog reports that:

Atheism requires as much faith as religion? bearvspuma : The only problem with this rationalization is that ita s assuming all athiests are so because theya re intelligent in the ways of science and reasoning and all people that believe in a form of god are unintelligent.

<quoted text>That doesn't even make any senseAnother retard so bent on opposing that simply doing so is valued much higher than how it is doneAlthough I will give you this, you seem to at least understand your limited ability to contribute anything worthwhile and don't bother trying to convince yourself or anyone else otherwise. That's something I guess. At least even you know you are useless in adult conversation

<quoted text>I see it much AA. I can not look down on a heroin addict thinking alcoholism made me better than them. I say, " I understand you and have been where you are. I can show you how I find a better way if you are interested in changing your life."If they aren't interested I say, "OK. If you change your mind you know where to find me."I don't despise people in the valley simply because I was given the opportunity to climb the mountain.

That's a good attitude to have, Ben.

Nobody's really better than anyone else, we're just different. And we all make mistakes.

There is an really unfortunate aspect to the Christian martyr complex, that if one does not get to oppress others then they are being oppressed themselves. This is the sentiment that Dave is expressing, and you see it so often among the other theist posters. To me, that displays very little empathy and no concern for tolerance.

BenAdam wrote:His wife is Bisexual. CC can't understand that.CC is too busy playing God to face reality.<quoted text>Huh. I smell a bit of hypocrisy brewing.timn & I were debating this man that was married with kids and left his wife because he realized he was gay.They call him gay now.Even though he's been intimate with women countless times.They call him gay.But you call a woman who was lesbian but now married to a man bisexual.You call her bisexual.According to Topix Atheist! logic, you should be calling her straight.Just like the guy is now called gay.

Hard to decide with people I don't know, but only hear a bit of gossip about. OK either they're both bisexual, or else "doing their duty". Trying to live up to the expectations of society, their beliefs, etc.

<quoted text>It sounds like the sort of joke we make about Tasmanians.

My brother married a Swedish woman and moved there. He told that the Swedes tell Norwegian jokes.

True story, though.

Some time back, when I was posting regularly on the evolution threads, I was trying to explain that the DNA evidence linking T-Rex and chickens did not mean chickens were descended from T-Rex. It merely meant that they were related. Just as he and his uncle had similar DNA, but he was not descended from his uncle.

<quoted text>Hard to decide with people I don't know, but only hear a bit of gossip about. OK either they're both bisexual, or else "doing their duty". Trying to live up to the expectations of society, their beliefs, etc.

The situation you present above has led to a lot of very unhappy relationships.

<quoted text>.. do you view HIV as a moral or health issue ??.... for faithful African women, marriage is a major risk factor and Bush's AIDS prevention mantra of abstinence only, subsidized by taxpayer dollars, is failing them ..: how can you compare lives saved by condoms against lives lost through policies based on religious morals that sabotage known prevention measures ??.... I'm sorry RR, I find your comments disingenuous. The current HIV prevention program in Africa, underscored by anti-gay views, has become a patronage system for the religious right and the emphasis on abstinence has resulted in unnecessary deaths ..

That's what they said in a book I read about third world women, called Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. The most likely way for a woman to put herself at risk of HIV was to get married.

Even some prostitutes are less at risk, they said, because they are more likely to use protection.

I haven't watched that Sam Harris video in well over a year, but when the time came to pick a city, I picked Cairo. I had absolutely no conscious memory that he would use that city as an example, but that's what floated up. When he said the city I picked, at first I was freaked out, until I remembered that I had watched the video before. That old connection came into play after more than a year of disuse.

<quoted text>Exactly. Angry and bitter? Delve into the Old Testament and quote Paul. Sweet and loving? Ignore all that and focus on Jesus specifically. You truly can make the Bible say anything you like, at all.To take another example, look at Joel Osteen and the latest trend of "gospel of prosperity". They peddle a message that wealth is the result of God's favor on a person, which DIRECTLY contradicts what Jesus said about camels passing through the eyes of needles. When you directly contradict what the supposed savior you are worshipping is supposed to have said, and said clearly, then how can you be called a Christian anymore?

Hi Wilde. This song reminds me of the whole televangelist thing. As we know, some are more moral than others.

<quoted text>I agree that the Old Testament clearly says it's sinful. My question is, what's the rationale for that? Likewise, the Bible also says slavery is perfectly moral; in fact it even gives instructions on how to sell a daughter into sexual slavery. Nothing in the New Testament contradicts this, and so presumably slavery is still perfectly moral. What's the rationale for that?

You would be a good person to be in an Ethics class with. Imagine the questions and discussions...

<quoted text><quoted text>A lot of us do.And if more did, there wouldn't be the STD epidemics sweeping the globe.It's time to teach morality again.

A few years ago I read a report from one of the AIDS research people, I cant remember who or what, that stated the culture of most Africans is skewed to the passing along of aids. For instance, you are discussing sex between practically strangers, and that they have convinced a lot of people to use condoms for that purpose, but in actuality, most men and women in Africa have several lovers that they have sex with on a regular basis. And no condom is used. They may see these people one a week, once a month, or once a year, but it is a regular happenstance so they don't think about it being an occurance that warrants the use of condoms. So aids continues to be a passed on problem.

<quoted text>Well by faith in this instance I don't mean belief without proof but rather he did not turn his back on GodDespite the tribulations he faced he stayed loyal to GodThe reward I am referring to is eternal life and other things received in Heaven, not any Earthly rewards

I am not sure about the loyalty but if that is what you see, OK.

I don't need heaven as a reward. I find life to be enough of a reward on its own.

I think we read into these parable what we want and what we need. No harm in that, rather what a wonderful thing it is... as long as we realize that we all have different wants and needs.

I hope you get the reward you seek. In the mean time, I am glad to share this life, this moment, this Universe with you.

<quoted text>That's what they said in a book I read about third world women, called Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. The most likely way for a woman to put herself at risk of HIV was to get married.Even some prostitutes are less at risk, they said, because they are more likely to use protection.

I don't know if you have seen it, but there is a documentary out on DVD called " I Am A Girl ".

<quoted text>“We are not the healer. God is the healer. Never a sickness God cannot heal. Never a disease God can- not cure. We don’t ask people to stop taking medica- tion. Doctors treat; God heals,” a representative of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) stated in an interview in October 2011.1 SCOAN is an Evangelical Christian church based in Lagos and operating in several parts of London.2 Under the leadership of T.B. Joshua, Nigeria’s thirst richest clergyman, the church has come under criticism in recent months for advising their congregations to stop taking lifesaving HIV medica- tion. The church’s website claims to offer special prayer and “HIV-Aids healing” as a service, as well as selling “Anointing Water” to help with healing process. The website also boasts photos and testimonials from mem- bers who have been “cured” of HIV. Forty-eight year- old Jane Iwu, a resident of east London, reports thather friend died after her pastor told her to stop taking her HIV medication.“[The pastor] told her...that ‘God is healer and has healed her.’”3 Ms. Iwu, who is HIV- positive herself, is not alone in this story. Three women have recently passed away after ending treatment at the advice of their pastor.<quoted text>http://ejournals.library.vanderbilt.edu/index...

The rise of AIDS in predominantly christian countries is unmistakeable, this article compares christianity to islam in Africa but it would be interesting to look at the numbers in the Americas, where christianity is still the majority and the number of AIDS sufferers is quite high, in contrast to a country that is predominantly secular, where the number of AIDS sufferers is lower.

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